Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major ("Emperor"), Op. 73
Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 19
Searching for clues in the historical record of how Beethoven played his first four piano concertos, Kristian Bezuidenhout considered the spontaneous nature of some of the premiere performances and has extrapolated options for his own interpretations. Beethoven's cadenzas were initially improvised, emulating Mozart's practice, and this contributed to his reputation as a pianist to watch in the late 1790s. Reflecting Beethoven's eagerness to impress the public with demonstrations of his exceptional virtuosity and invention, ...
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Searching for clues in the historical record of how Beethoven played his first four piano concertos, Kristian Bezuidenhout considered the spontaneous nature of some of the premiere performances and has extrapolated options for his own interpretations. Beethoven's cadenzas were initially improvised, emulating Mozart's practice, and this contributed to his reputation as a pianist to watch in the late 1790s. Reflecting Beethoven's eagerness to impress the public with demonstrations of his exceptional virtuosity and invention, the early concertos quickly made him a celebrity in Vienna and across Europe. For this 2020 release on Harmonia Mundi, Bezuidenhout joins Pablo Heras-Casado and the Freiburger Barockorchester in period-style performances of the Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 19 (1798), which Beethoven played, and the Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major, "Emperor," Op. 73 (1809), which he did not, having become profoundly deaf by that time and unable to hear the orchestra or his own part....
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